


Too Close for Comfort

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Community: mcsheplets, Horror, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-08
Updated: 2010-08-08
Packaged: 2017-10-21 19:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/228676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A routine mission almost ends in disaster for Rodney.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Close for Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Written for **mcsheplets** prompt #72 Animalistic

Rodney backed away slowly as Grayan snarled and stalked forward, blood and spittle running freely down his chin, teeth bared and eyes revealing nothing but insanity. Two hours earlier he had been one of Sheppard's best soldiers, protecting the team of scientists studying the ancient ruin on PX4 8GY, and sternly refusing to return to Atlantis after being bitten by a small lizard-like creature. Instead of following Rodney's advice Captain Reynard had scoffed at Rodney for being such a hypochondriac and left Sergeant Grayan to disinfect and wrap his hand.

Reynard was dead now--lying on the ground barely ten feet away with his neck at an unnatural angle after Grayan grabbed him from behind and twisted Reynard's head in one swift motion. Hayam, the team's expert on Ancient writing, was crouched down beside Reynard and all Rodney could hear was the sickening tear of flesh and crunch of bones as he and Harrington tore into Reynard like a pack of animals.

Rodney took another slow step backwards with hands raised defensively.

"I'll just wait outside...leave you to your...your...dinner."

Movement made him cast a glance towards Reynard as both Harrington and Hayam rose to their feet, their hungry eyes on new prey--him.

"Ohgodohgod," Rodney whispered as he slid his hand gun out of the thigh holster and brought it up. Grayan never paused, as if he no longer recognized the gun as a threat, leaving Rodney with even fewer options. He had already discarded the idea of simply turning and running for his life as Grayan would catch him in seconds--and tear him to pieces. He could try a warning shot over the top of their heads and make a break for the Stargate but they were still intelligent enough to know how to strip away Reynard's uniform to get at his flesh so there was no guarantee that it would distract them for more than a few seconds--and Rodney would never make it a hundred feet let alone the half mile back to the gate and dial up in time.

"Please, please, please stay back. I don't want to have to shoot you." He gasped when he heard a low growl to the left. He had only taken his eyes off the other two for a second but Harrington had circled one way and Hayam the other.

"Oh no," he whispered as Grayan tensed in exactly the same way his cat would bundle her muscles before pouncing. He closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger as Grayan leaped towards him, aware that he couldn't stop the other two as well. The whine of Ronon's blaster split the air and Rodney opened his eyes to find all three of his attackers had dropped. A growing pool of red was all Rodney needed to see to know he had hit his target but Grayan had been almost on top of him at the time.

Hands grabbed at him, pulling him out of the ruined chamber and under the hot sun and blue skies.

"Rodney? Rodney!"

He blinked away the horror and focused on the man holding his biceps tightly, only now realizing how close he had come to being torn apart by a pack of ravenous creatures that had once been human.

"John," he whispered raggedly and collapsed against his lover's chest, wrapping his arms around John's waist and burying his head in the crook between neck and shoulder.

"It's okay. I got you." He felt John's hands moving in soothing circles on his back.

"Sheppard?"

Rodney heard Ronon calling to John and he let John push him down to sit of a small pile of rocks that had once been part of a wall--probably.

"Wait here."

Rodney nodded mutely but he didn't take his eyes off John as his lover walked back to the chamber, and even after John went inside he kept his eyes locked on the doorway, his chest tightening in fear. He released another ragged breath that he hadn't realized he was holding when John stepped back outside and joined him.

"Come on, I need to report in...and get a team out here."

Everything seemed to happen so fast after that. It seemed like only minutes had passed before Carson came through with his team, all of them in hazmat suits. They disappeared inside the ruin leaving Rodney sitting on the stone steps leading up to this particular Stargate, well outside the splash zone. John sank down next to him, absently rubbing his arm. It took a moment for that to sink in.

"What's wrong with your arm?"

"Nothing. It's fine."

"John... What's wrong with your arm," he asked more firmly.

"It's nothing...just a small bite."

Rodney leaped to his feet. "Carson! Carson!"

***

Twenty-four hours later they were both released from separate isolation rooms after neither of them showed any signs of the rabid infection suffered by the rest of Reynard's team. Rodney had barely slept, with what little he had gained broken by nightmares of animalistic growls and the sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh.

"It's lucky Ronon recognized the lizard creature and pointed Carson towards a possible cure," Rodney stated, and Carson had at least managed to save Harrington and Hayam too. Grayan was as dead as Reynard though, shot through the heart at almost point blank range.

That night Rodney wrapped himself around John as the last tremors of his release eased away. For a moment yesterday, he thought he had lost this forever and if Ronon had not accompanied John on his sudden desire to check what Rodney was up to on the planet then all would have been lost. As he tightened his hold on John he knew he owed Ronon more than he could ever repay...though he suspected a new knife would be a great start.

Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow I'll get Ronon one of those military knives like the one Rambo had in the movie.

With that problem solved, Rodney closed his eyes and drifted towards sleep, unafraid of suffering through another nightmare because, this time, he had John to comfort him and to chase away the bad dreams.

END


End file.
